July 2014

Jul 25

Snapchat has been on the rise in social media as one of the only applications for sharing disappearing pictures and conversations, along with its recent update to chat face-to-face. However, Snapchat should be expecting some competitors in the near future. It’s no surprise that the market would soon be flooded with copy cats since many social media companies make constant attempts to take over other services.

Instagram is currently in the window for a new developing app—it may be the next big player to steal the game and Snapchat’s spotlight! A banner introducing the app “Bolt” appeared at the top of Instagram’s mobile app on July 23rd advertising a service for “one tap photo messaging”. According to sources, the announcement was quickly pulled, but several people were still able to snag screenshots of it and pass it around Twitter (Engadget).

Unfortunately, there is no further detail on “Bolt”, but there is a chance that the app could offer a unique twist on the format of picture messaging and shove the copy cats aside. Check out The Verge’s post about Instagram’s rumored “Bolt” and view the leaked images of Snapchat’s competitor!

Jul 25

SoundCloud is deemed as one of the most popular among the many music platforms on the Internet today. According to reports posted in October 2013, the site had 250 million monthly active users. It was founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss. SoundCloud continues to grow as an online music platform and Ljung even coined the company as a “YouTube for music”. As an online music site SoundCloud allows users to upload audio tracks, repost, like, comment, and share any track. Users are also able to upload copyrighted music and share it with friends. Therefore, this has become a concern for SoundCloud and the company will be held liable for hosting the content.

SoundCloud plans to avoid getting sued by giving record labels a stake. According to sources who spoke with Mashable Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group are part of the negotiations. It is said that SoundCloud could give anywhere between 3% to 5% stakes to each label along with a cut of future revenue. Thus, SoundCloud would be able to avoid lawsuits over uploaded copyrighted music to the site. Read more about the issue here and stay updated on the company’s plans to remain a popular music platform, which provides free streaming to users!

Jul 24

It’s that glorious time of year again- COMIC-CON 2014!!! The annual convention celebrating all things comics, television, films, art and culture begins today in San Diego. There are preview screenings, panel discussions, celeb sightings, book signings, and the of course the spectacular exhibition hall with different vendors showing off their displays and selling exclusive merch. The entire area of downtown San Diego turns into mass chaos when nerds from all corners of the earth descend upon the city for the convention. While I am sadly not there this year (*crying*), here’s a quick preview on some of the things we’re missing out on

Jul 23

In a world where there are so many different ways and outlets to communicate, one system has stood out above the others: EMOJIS.

These little pictographs you see on their separate keyboard on your iPhone or iPad are relatively new, appearing in the last couple years or so, with origins in late 1990s Japanese cell phone usage (which explains much of the appearance of some of the emojis). Emojis were encoded into Unicode Standard in 2010, with over 700 characters currently in existence.

Emojis are there when words don’t or can’t say enough, to provide a visual example to a message, and for all those moments in communication and life when you just want to include a cute little relevant emoji. With each younger, tech-savvier generation, emojis have permeated to the furthest depths of the internet: Twitter supports them in a remarkably clean 2D style (see this article), you can track the use of emoji on twitter in realtime on emojitracker.com and there’s even a Wikipedia-esque website dedicated to explaining different emoji, Emojipedia.

Mobile Santa Barbara, a meetup group created on Meetup.com, is hosting an awesome event at Oniracom this Thursday, July 24 at 6PM.

The event is all about iBeacons, which may be the key to the next technology revolution! It’s a combination of hardware and software that allows a phone to know when they are near a “beacon.” This allows companies to deliver highly location and contextually-aware content. It’s most immediate applications are in retail, with Apple using it in all of its stores to know when you’re there.

We will be joined by Christian Smith of Phone Halo, a local Santa Barbara company with over 6 years of experience in this field, Procore Technologies, a company that provides cloud-based construction management software to clients across the world, and us—Oniracom!

If you’re interested in mobile technology, you should definitely check out the event. We’re located at 720 East Haley Street. The event will be from 6PM - 8PM on Thursday and food will be provided by Procore. For more info, head to the meetup event here!

Jul 17

American musician/parodist artist “Weird Al” Yankovic is known for his humorous, but respective parody songs in pop culture. He has recently made two ridiculously hilarious songs to parody Pharrell William’s successful hit ‘Happy’ and Daft Punk’s funky song ‘Get Lucky’. His take on ‘Get Lucky’ doesn’t have a crazy video to compliment it, but he sings it with accompaniment from an accordion, brassy horns, and slight banjo. However, he reworked ‘Happy’ into ‘Tacky’ along with a music video of him and comedy actors Aisha Tyler, Margaret Cho, and Eric Stonestreet dancing around in colorful, psychedelic outfits.

In collaboration with College Humor, “Weird Al” created a parody of Lorde’s mega-hit ‘Royals’. Watch the video of the parody ‘Foil’ about leftover food with a conceptual twist here.

“Weird Al” has released a parody of just about every major hit song and continues to keep on giving! Check out his latest fun parody videos here !

Jul 15

Technology is causing traditional city cab services to halt and reevaluate their infrastructure due to the rising new apps Lyft and Uber.

Lyft and Uber cars are being ticketed and towed in order to try and minimize the negative effects on city cab drivers (Mashable). For example, Uber is currently banned in Portland, Oregon because of the opinions of taxi companies and established regulatory rules and is considered to be “violating local laws” if operated in Texas. However, cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles have widely accepted the idea of Lyft and Uber. Although the companies are thriving in Los Angeles, a major problem is the amount of citations distributed to Lyft and Uber drivers at the LAX airport. According to NBC Los Angeles channel 4 news, the police believe the ride share services are violating state regulations, which include their ability to pick passengers up from the airport. Lastly, in Seattle, the local city council passed an ordinance that would limit the amount of Uber, Lyft and other rideshare services on the road. Uber and Lyft are trying to get this ordinance overturned with their plans to introduce insurance coverage for the drivers of the cars.

Even with disputes about Lyft in the U.S., they have secured money to make an international launch (Mashable). The company however, will have to compete with the already well-established app, Uber. This international launch will bring about the promotion of filling every seat in a car and maximizing the concept of carpooling. A pink mustache is one way in which Lyft cars can be identified, and it doesn’t just physically represent Lyft, but also characterizes them as one of the best ways for people to travel. This company is an advocate of making a big city seem smaller and bringing people together through transportation. Lyft community drivers are background-checked and interviewed in order to provide the most enjoyable travel experience possible. Lyft is now available in more than 20 cities across the country.

After hearing about the controversies of these apps, do you believe they should be seen as a positive asset to the ride share service? Do they have what it takes to be better than a regular taxi company? We think apps like Lyft and Uber can be a great service to use for your travels and are setting trends for the future of city cab services. Check out the apps on Google Play or iTunes!

Jul 01

As of 1pm on Tuesday July 1st, Songza is officially part of the Google Family.

For those who don’t know, Songza is a music playlist streaming service from Long Island that has gathered about 5.5 million users in its 6 years of existence.

Songza’s curation algorithm—or its “concierge” option, is unlike any other service in that it takes into account the activities the listener is participating in at the time of day and creating a playlist to fit that specific, unique environment. The range of activities is extensive—ranging from “Lounging In a Cool Hotel” to “Waking Up On The Right Side Of The Bed”, and my personal favorite, “Shopping At A Vintage Store”.

About this Blog

Oniracom is a group of Music Industry Specialists for the Web who present a unique perspective on the entertainment industry by working closely with Artists, Management, Labels, Booking Agents, Media Outlets and other Tech Companies. We have a birds eye perspective on every aspect of the music industry and report what we see, hear, think, and do.